a week passed with no interaction between brett and the warden. he was convinced that the taller man had figured out that it would be in both of their best interests to stop whatever they had started—and fast. it was a relief to be left alone. the other inmates had already grown bored of bullying brett for his size and had moved on to another inmate who was on the exact opposite side of the weight spectrum, weighing at least 400 pounds.
work at the library had become brett's favorite part of the day and he spent his time reading the books on the shelves, no matter their topic. there were two music books that he'd found amongst the piles of discards in the backroom and he kept them nearby at all times. he missed music more than anything and reading about it helped him pass the days away.
on brett's 9th day in prison, he was called to the warden's office for the second time. his heart slammed against his ribcage as he shuffled along down the hallway, grimacing at the yellowed walls. the CO that accompanied him hadn't said a word for the entire journey. it scared brett even more.
as the officer knocked on the door to eddy's office, brett thought his head was going to explode. he hadn't liked the attention that this situation had drawn to him the first time and it was going to be even worse after the second. he secretly hoped that the large man who'd had everyone's attention lately would do something notable to keep the focus off of himself.
"what?" eddy's voice came from inside his office, slightly muffled by the wooden door. brett picked at his nails.
"i've got brett yang, sir."
"let him in. you can go back."
the door opened and brett found himself staring at the top of eddy's head, watching him scribble his messy signature over and over on a mountain of paperwork.
"close the door and sit down," the taller man said firmly. brett did.
a strange silence filled the room for an uncomfortably long time as eddy continued to write. brett jiggled his leg impatiently and crossed his arms, raising his eyebrows as time passed.
"you're not eating," eddy said finally, still not looking up from the pile of papers on his desk.
brett said nothing. there really wasn't anything to say, seeing as eddy was absolutely correct and denial was brett's only defense mechanism at that point. the silence continued on for another period of time until eddy broke it, clearing his throat.
"do you want to tell me why?" he asked. brett sucked his teeth and crossed his arms.
"sir, i would rather eat my own vomit."
eddy paused for a moment, resisting the smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth. he set his black pen down pushed his chair back from his desk, clasping his hands behind his head.
"is it really that bad?"
"it's disgusting, sir."
"you know you don't have to call me sir in every sentence, right?"
"yes, sir."
the same stubborn smile attempted to spread across eddy's gorgeous face and he cleared his throat again. brett's arms remained crossed and he eyed the warden warily, a deep sigh escaping from his nose.
"well, brett yang, i'm not going to let you starve to death. we're going to have to figure something out," eddy said decisively, standing up to return a file to its proper place in the file cabinet. brett found himself staring at his legs, muscles visible under the tight fabric of his jeans.
"you've got to stop doing this," brett sighed. eddy turned to face him, frowning.
"what?"
"you can't keep giving me special treatment. it's catching people's attention. i've become a bit of a target, uh, sir."
eddy groaned and pushed his hair out of his face. brett found him absolutely beautiful, even in the harsh fluorescent lighting of his office. staring at him was hard not to do and he didn't attempt to stop himself now, looking deep into the other man's almond colored irises.
"i'm sorry, brett. that wasn't my intention," he shook his head. the way he said brett's name made the smaller boy's heart skip a beat and he shivered visibly.
"what was your intention? why do you care about me so much?" brett asked boldly. eddy took a deep breath.
"you don't belong here, yang. i've spent hours reading your file over and over. there's no reason you should be here and i don't like for innocent people to be in my prison. i know how shitty this place is. it destroys people. i can't let that happen to you. not again," eddy said, the last sentence barely audible. brett frowned.
"again?"
"never mind. it doesn't matter. the point is that i'm not as much of an asshole as i like people to think i am and you don't deserve to be here. i can't sit by and watch you suffer. i just can't," he threw his hands up before slamming them on the table.
"sir, you—"
"eddy."
brett froze. was he telling him to use his first name?
"what?" he looked into the other man's eyes, furrowing his brow in a look of confusion.
"you can call me eddy," the warden shrugged.
"why?"
the two men stared at each other for a long time then, neither of them able to find an answer for brett's question. the truth was that eddy had absolutely no idea why he was so drawn to brett. something about him was so kind and irresistible. there was a light inside him and eddy refused to let his prison put it out.
"because i said so. but i'd advise you keep my first name out of your mouth unless you're speaking directly to me. calling me eddy is bound to catch someone's attention more so than our meetings."
"yeah. our meetings. emphasis on the plurality of that word. i can't do this, um.. eddy. i'm in danger. do you have any idea how hard it is to be small in this place? meeting with you isn't helping my status as everyone's punching bag, as much as i like being in here."
that smile came again, and eddy let it.
"you like it?" he asked softly. a red tint crept across brett's face and he nodded.
"uh... yeah. it smells better in here than anywhere else. it's quiet. and it's cold. nowhere else in here is cold except for the library and i can't stand it," he shrugged. the smile remained.
"speaking of the library, how's work going?" eddy asked. brett shrugged and tried to seem less enthusiastic about his job than he actually was.
"i like it," he said simply. the warden raised an eyebrow and crossed his toned arms.
"do you? if you don't, i can—"
"yes. i do."
eddy narrowed his eyes at brett and sighed softly, returning momentarily to the paperwork that remained on his desk.
"you can sit in here for a bit if you want. i've got a ton of shit to do," he muttered. brett blushed again and shifted slightly in his comfortable chair, yawning quietly. eddy's eyebrows lifted again.
"are you tired?" he asked, glancing up from his work.
"i mean... yeah, i guess," the smaller man shrugged. eddy began typing on his computer, avoiding eye contact.
"you can take a nap in here. it's the least i can do. i'll wake you up at dinner time," he mumbled. brett squinted at him, extremely confused. there was no way this was the same man he'd watched pry two angry criminals apart with only his bare hands. there was such a softness to his tone now, completely different than the other day in the cubicles.
"okay," brett shrugged again. eddy smiled slightly and gestured to the couch that sat against the wall in his office, standing up and disappearing from brett's view as he walked into his closet. he returned with a blanket and handed it to brett. the smaller man was extremely wary of his kindness but too appreciative to refuse his offer. and he really was tired, anyways.
brett laid down on the couch and covered his entire body with the blanket, determined not to let eddy see the faint blush that remained on his cheeks. there was only one thought on his mind as he fell asleep.
what the hell is happening?